That Winter
by meechi
Summary: Hermione's last winter at Hogwarts turns into a blast of different feelings from someone she utterly dispises.


Ok, this is a pretty good story I guess. It's up to you to tell me so. Have a lovely time! Lata! ;-) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
It was the winter of their last year at Hogwarts. The snow piled upon the grounds and the cold iced over the lake in which the large octopus stayed. Every window was covered so much in dense frost that it was hard to scrape off with knife. Every fire was lit constantly and never ceased for if it did, the room in which it stood would grow menacingly cold and the fire would be extremely hard to conjure up again.  
The Gryffindor common room was very lively. Full of Chritmas cheer and laughter, the students who resided in that house were awake and opening their presents. Two best friends in 7th year were up in their dormatories and giving many thanks to each other.  
"Thanks so much for giving me a firebolt! I can't stop staring at it!" Ron said with wide eyes, holding his broom in both hands.  
"They were on sale," Harry responded, his cheeks flushed. It was not for his pride and happiness that made his cheeks flush, but the stone walls were no less warmer than Snape's dungeon. Though his face resembled somewhat of a rosebush, his hands and feet were of ice. It was extremely hard for Harry to open the gift Ron had gotten him for his hands were numb and wouldn't move where Harry told them to.  
"Well open it then!" Ron demanded, his eyes still staring hungrily at the gold imprinted letters resembling the word Firebolt on the handle of his broom.  
"I'm getting there, just hold on," Harry grumbled, revealing the small box which lay inside the wrapping paper. Inside that box (which he found out twenty minutes later after having to bite the box open) was a book. He opend the book up only to reveal many wizarding pictures. They were of his days at Hogwarts. Some were pictures of Harry zooming around on his broomstick at a Quiddich match or of Harry, Ron, and Hermione helping their friend Hagrid with a pair of seven foot long blast-ended screwts. One of hem, Harry saw, putted off out of the picture leaving Ron's arm in flames. Ron ran into Hagrid's hut to extinguish it, smoke billowing out of the open door.  
"Where did you get all of these?" Harry asked his friend.  
"Colin Creevy gave me most of them," Ron replied, finally setting down the broomstick and picking up one of the cakes his mother Mrs. Weasley had sent them.  
"I could only assume," Harry muttered, for he knew that Colin Creevy (also of Gryffindor, 6th year) was one of the most photographic people he had ever known. That is, of Harry anyway...  
"Come on, let's go see what Hermione got for Christmas." Ron took as many cakes as he could from the package.  
"Alright then," Harry said, also taking a few cakes from the box of sweets.  
They went down the spiral staircase and into the Gryffindor common room where most of Gryffindor was huddled around the fireplace.  
"Hermione?" the boys called up the girls' dormitory staircase.  
"I'm coming!" she replied. Not a minute passed before she appeared, skipping every other tep on the way down and tripping over the last one, sending her straight into Ron. She laughed wholeheartedly.  
"What're you in such a good mood for?" Ron asked her, smiling also and still clutching her arm.  
"Presents!" she exclaimed, "I've got presents! Loads of them!"  
"Yeah, it's Christmas," Harry chuckled.  
"No, no! Krum!" she exclaimed again. She didn't notice the sudden sorrowful look on Ron's face.  
"Krum? What's he got to do with anything?" he barked.  
"Presents!" she squealed again, "he sent me so much this Christmas! One present he sent was a box of chocolates along with a card. There also was a bottle of really expensive purfume and about a dozen roses! They didn't have a card or anything with them. In fact, they were separated from his chocolates. But I can still tell they're from him! I'm going to go send him an owl right now and thank him! I hope he enjoyed the broomstick servicing kit I got him!"  
"Broomstick servicing kit? But you got me one for-" Harry started, but didn't get to finish his sentence for he was pulled across the common room to the portrait fo the fat lady along with Ron. They both had to retrain her in order to tell her they had to get dressed.  
"I hope she doesn't start bouncing off the walls," Ron whispered to Harry as they made their way back to the spiraling staircase.  
  
After Hermione sent the owl to Krum, they headed to the Great Hall for breakfast. The two boys could tell that Hermione enjoyed Krum's gifts for they could smell the aroma of the purfume.  
"So what did you get for Christmas, Harry?" Hermione asked pleseantly as they came upon the giant doors of the Great Hall.  
"Nothing spectacular," he shrugged.  
"You know, I asked Krum whether or not he might visit me over the holidays. What do you think?"  
"What is he now? Thirty years old?" Ron said saracstically.  
"Ron, he's twenty-one. Only four years ahead of us. Excuse me!" she cried after bumping into one of their enemies at Hogwarts - Malfoy.  
"No, excuse me Mudblood," he sneered. He gave a sniff to the air, most likely noticing the fragrance of Hermione's purfume, and chortled.  
"What's so funny?" she yelled.  
"Ode de toilet," he laughed and strode out of the Great Hall and down the stairs to the Slytherin common room.  
"It is not!" she screamed at him, fists in balls at her side. "Stupid Malfoy..."  
"Let's go eat, shall we?" Harry suggested, trying to make their Christmas lighter and happier than the rest of their school days involving Slytherins. His friends agreed and they sat down to muffins, pancakes, sausages, and bacon. 


End file.
